Going After the Proxies.  Gordon Chang Talks to A&G

Gordon Chang, author and China analyst, delivers a stark warning about the fragility of China's political and economic system, arguing that President Trump's strategy of targeting China's proxies—Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran—is a more effective approach than direct confrontation. Chang contends that Xi Jinping's purges of the military leadership have crippled China's ability to launch a Taiwan invasion, while also undermining the regime's internal stability. He emphasizes that China's push to de-dollarize global trade through Iran's toll-based blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic gamble that could backfire if the U.S. responds by closing the strait to toll-paying ships. Chang also criticizes the U.S. for chasing diplomatic engagement with China, calling it a weakness that emboldens Beijing. He argues that Trump’s inconsistent rhetoric confuses China, but his substance—economic pressure and proxy targeting—could exploit China’s deepening crisis. Looking back, Chang admits his 2001 prediction of China’s collapse within a decade was premature, but now sees the regime at a 'very fragile point' due to debt-fueled overstimulation and economic decay. The episode reveals a critical blind spot in mainstream media: the failure to see how China’s global ambitions are built on proxy warfare and economic coercion rather than direct military power. Chang’s insight—that the U.S. should stop chasing China and instead force it to chase the U.S.